Johannesburg - The Limpopo man accused of defacing The Spear painting has been fired, according to a report on Wednesday.

His now-former employer Mphaphi Machipi told the Sowetan that Louis Mabokela was on sick leave when he defaced the painting.

Mabokela, 25, worked as a taxi driver in Limpopo.

"I was surprised to see Mabokela [on television] defacing the painting of President Jacob Zuma in Johannesburg, while he had told me he was around and not well," said Machipi.

Mabokela told the daily newspaper it was worth losing his job "in order to restore the dignity of the president".The Spear depicted President Jacob Zuma with exposed genitals, sparking countrywide controversy.

24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Saving your profile

Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location.
If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a
location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to
take affect.

Your Location*

Weather*

Always remember my setting

Saving your settings

Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.